I Remember You
by wordwitch
Summary: What happens when Elizabeth gets hit on the head and doesn't remember her fiance, Will, but instead only remembers Jack? Sparrabeth, please read and review. Chapters one thru four have been edited and are much improved!
1. Prologue

**This chapter is now edited and should be much improved!**

Since Jack and Elizabeth should have been together like, ages ago, and it didn't exactly happen in AWE, I decided to make it happen myself... I don't like Will much, as you'll probably be able to tell. I just like his hotness in the movie, but since that's not distracting me in text, he's going down, haha... Read and review?

* * *

_You'll never hear this in any nursery story or old sailor's song, but there are different kinds of love. There's brotherly love, which you feel towards someone you love without lust, and there's parental love, of course, the kind you feel towards the little children running in the marketplace when you long to have your own. And then there's expected love, the kind of love everyone always _demands_ you to develop for someone you wouldn't normally choose. The truth is, however, that forbidden love is the most powerful love of all, and it is this love that devours you when you least expect it. In short, it is this love that is unforgettable.  
_

* * *

Elizabeth could never remember a sky so blue, a day so clear, a feeling so happy. She glanced to her left on the Black Pearl, where her hand was entwined with Will's, and she marveled at her good fortune. How many young women found a man who loved them so completely? 

In spite of the fact that she was lucky, however, she sometimes felt a vague disappointment that she could not explain. She generally pushed these feelings aside, brushing them off the way she brushed dirt off of her skirt after helping with the sails. Why worry about something she didn't understand?

"So, luv, how about some gambling?" Jack came up to the couple, brandishing a deck of cards.

Elizabeth laughed, tossing back her hair. "And lose to you again? I think not, Captain." She wondered how his words could seem so enticing.

"Aye, but surely a lass like you should like to try yer luck-"

"Sparrow, she said NO." snapped Will, jerking Elizabeth closer to him.

"Will! He was just teasing me..." She dropped his hand and pulled away. She didn't like the way Jack was eying their separate hands with a look she couldn't identify. Was that amusement? Or worse, was it satisfaction?

The ship shuddered suddenly, hitting a sharp rock in the middle of the ocean. The rock groaned as it pushed its way through the railing, leaving a jagged gap straight into the sea.

Jack sauntered up to Elizabeth, his voice soft enough for her alone. "Isn't it odd how sometimes you have to _push_ your way through something to get to your destination? That rock wanted in between the railing and the ship, so it-" he paused delicately, stepping between Will and Elizabeth, "-came _between_ them, and now look."

"Captain Sparrow, you should see to your ship," cut in Will.

Jack bowed and walked off, where he could be heard yelling at Gibbs for poor observation skills.

Elizabeth watched him go, wondering.

* * *

"Elizabeth, we need to talk." Will had a sour look on his face. It reminded Elizabeth of the time when they were little, when they had eaten plums before they were ripe, and their faces had puckered up. 

"About what?" she asked, idly tracing her finger over the broken rail.

"You must never question me in front of other people!"

"Refresh my memory, Will. When did I 'correct you'?"

"When you told me that the captain was just teasing you. You should not have corrected me in front of him! A woman's duty is to respect her husband at all times, and you seem to have forgotten that as of late!"

Elizabeth's voice gained a steely quality. "First of all, Mr. Turner, I am not yet your wife. And secondly, you seem to have forgotten that there is no dominance in this relationship. I believe that I proven time and time again that there is no dominance in this relationship!"

"Elizabeth, if you are going to act like that, then-"

"Will! You're the one who-"

"Me?! I'm not the one flirting with a pirate!"

"JACK?! You are insinuating that Jack and I are- Will! How dare you!"

"I saw you kiss him, I see you look at him!"

"I'm not in love with him, I'm not!" Elizabeth backed up slowly as Will advanced towards her.

"You can't deny that there is something there!"

"There is _nothing_ between Captain Jack Sparrow and me." She furiously hoped that Will did not notice how her words seemed to lack conviction, even to herself.

Will took several steps towards her, and Elizabeth, still backing up, plunged over the rail.

* * *

_I grew up by the ocean, swimming like a fish when I was hardly more than a babe, my body slick with shining water. The ocean represents transportation, trade, a way of life for me and for my town. We all know the widows who lost their husbands to the sea, but this phrase has always seemed odd to me. I cannot understand losing someone to the sea when the sea has always been my place to find myself. It is for this reason that instead of panicking as I feel myself falling into the bright blue waves, I succumb to them._

* * *

Jack was glaring as he reprimanded Gibbs when he heard Elizabeth raise her voice at Will, which startled him. He had never known her to raise her voice at her fiance, and until today had never even seen her pull away from him. Curious in spite of himself, he quickly left Gibbs (He'd apologize later) and crept over to where they appeared to be having an argument. 

He arrived to see Will seeming to advance towards Elizabeth. _Oh, Lizzie_, he heard himself thinking. _With her temper, she's not going to think about the rail. She's just going to-_

With a splash much too large for her thin frame, she fell through the rail. Swearing, he kicked off his boots and dove in after her, getting a strong sense of deja vu.

But last time, there had not been a sharp rock under the waves. Last time, Elizabeth did not hit her head, and last time, she was not bleeding profusely.

For no reason at all, he thought of a dream he had had a few nights ago, where he and Lizzie were swimming naked through rum under the Caribbean sun.

In awe that their could possibly be such a poor substitute, he dove straight under, opening his eyes in the salty water. Ignoring the burning sensation, he looked around frantically, where he finally spotted her about ten feet to the left of him. Jack pulled her up from under water, trying not to notice the blood dripping from her beautiful face, silently promising her that he would kill Will if he had caused her serious injury. (To hell with it only indirectly being his fault!)

With Elizabeth cradled under one arm, he used his other arm to swim back to the ship, propelling himself through the water. He had seen enough head wounds in his years as a pirate to know how many of them were fatal, and his fear for Elizabeth's life kept the water churning as he kicked.

Finally reaching the ship again, he offered a hand to Gibbs (the crew members had arrived on the scene), and he pulled himself up, snapping at Pintel to start repairing the railing. If only he had repaired the railing before yelling at the crew...

Will moved as if to take Elizabeth from Jack, but Jack put his other hand on his pistol, and Will recoiled though burned. Realizing that Elizabeth was unconscious, he carried her to his personal cabin rather than the one she had shared with Will.

He laid her gently down on his bed, trying not to notice that the bleeding hadn't slowed, trying not to notice her stillness. He felt quickly for her pulse. When he found it beating, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

His next priority, Jack reasoned, was to stop the bleeding. Fashioning a bandage out of cloth from the bottom of her dress, he tied it tightly around the long gash on her forehead, letting a hand trail down her cheek. Gently wiping off the blood on her face, he brushed her hair back on the pillow.

If she dies, he vowed, he will kill Will. (A/N: will kill Will. hahahahahaha) He will rip him up into little pieces, he will send a blade through his heart, he will-

Elizabeth moaned, fluttering her eyelashes as she struggled to wake. "Shhh," he soothed, pressing a cool hand to her cheek.

She opened her eyes, blinking. "Jack?" she said in confusion.

"Right here, luv."

"What happened?" she brushed a hand across her forehead, "And why is my head pounding like a bloody drum?"

"Your head took a beating as you fell overboard. Go back to sleep, Elizabeth."

It was a sign of her injury that Elizabeth did not argue with him, and instead rolled over and closed her eyes. Jack watched her for several minutes until he heard pounding on his door. Furious that someone would dare to wake her, he tugged open the door.

It was Will, the last person on earth that Jack wanted to see.

"Let me in," he said tightly, trying to push his way in the cabin.

"I think not," replied Jack, unable to keep the chill out of his voice.

"Whether or not you saved her, and whether or not this is my fault, she is still my fiance. I'll thank you not to forget that."

Realizing that the arguing might wake Elizabeth, Jack reluctantly allowed Will to pass, where he immediately rushed over to Elizabeth, shaking her awake.

"Elizabeth!" She quickly awoke, looking generally annoyed that she was no longer sleeping peacefully.

"I was sleeping," she moaned, and shook his hand off of her.

"But Elizabeth, it's Will!"

"It's who?" she frowned in confusion.

"Will, your finance!" He muttered impatiently to Jack, "You didn't mention that something was wrong with her memory!"

"Aye, didn't know that there was..."

"Jack?" Elizabeth suddenly asked.

"Right here, luv."

"How does she remember _you_?" spat out Will.

"Let's just say that I'm... unforgettable." said Jack, taking his proper place by Elizabeth's bedside.

* * *

There now, wasn't that so much better after the improvements? haha

* * *


	2. Caught in the act?

**This chapter has been edited.**

Thanks to those lovely people who have reviewed already!

* * *

Jack watched as Will stormed out of the room, grinning to himself. His grin faded, however, when Elizabeth tossed and turned in her sleep in her sleep. Why didn't she remember Will? What else didn't she remember? He glanced at his desk, wondering where the rum had gotten to, when she murmured in her sleep. 

He reached for her hand, noticing that although it was calloused from working on the Pearl alongside the men, it was much smaller than his, and much, much more delicate. He was staring off into space when he felt her squeeze his hand, and starting, he turned towards her.

"Jack?" she murmured, "Where are we, exactly?"

Trying not to show his surprise, Jack calmly replied, "We're on the Black Pearl, luv. It's a ship in the Caribbean."

She frowned. "Am I a pirate, too?"

He laughed. "You've proven yourself a number of times, Elizabeth.." Becoming more solemn, he went on. "Can you tell me everything you remember about yerself and anyone else?"

"Well," she said, "I remember you, Jack. And I remember that I'm Elizabeth Swann... And I've known you for a long time, I think."

He nodded. "Four years."

* * *

_When you don't remember anything, the world suddenly becomes a different place. It is oddly peaceful- since you don't remember anything, nothing is expected out of you. The sun streaked through the window as he held my hand in his, and I smile, because I remember him. Jack. My Jack. _

_I remember our engagement, too, though I do not mention it to him. The other man -Wilbur? Will?- lied and said he is my fiance, but it was obvious from the look on Jack's face that I belong to him, that I am his. There is no one else to whom I would rather belong.  
_

* * *

After his crew had repaired the railing, the Captain gave orders to dock at the nearest town to find a doctor. Head wounds, he knew, were tricky to heal, and he wanted Elizabeth to have the best possible treatment so she could regain her memory. He wanted rum, too, but that would have to wait. 

He slipped quietly back into his room, determined not to wake Elizabeth, but to his surprise, she was awake and fumbling with her clothes. She smiled at him when she walked in, and for a moment Jack forgot that he was the only thing she remembered.

"I was wondering if you could help me," she said brightly. "You see, I'm trying to sleep, but this dress keeps getting in the way. Could you help me take it off?"

Noticing the surprised look on his face, she laughed. "I have approximately ninety undergarments under this, Jack. Just help me get off this top layer. It's so... large."

It was that, reflected Jack. Its intricate embroidery made it wide in appearance, although her figure was as narrow as ever. "Aye," he nodded. He did not know how to cure a head wound, but taking off women's clothing was definitely something Jack knew how to do.

He also could not say that he protested when it came to removing this particular woman's clothing.

He helped her unfasten the dress and slipped it off of her right shoulder. With a quick intake of breath, he noticed an old bruise blooming across her entire shoulder. She winced as he drew the dress over it, and he tried to appear nonchalant as he asked, "Ah, so how did ye get this bruise?"

She smiled faintly. "Will it surprise you if I tell you that I don't remember?"

Jack frowned, but he it was the answer he had expected nonetheless.

He was taking the rest of her dress off when Will walked into the cabin.

* * *

_Colors are my first recovered memory. Red, the color of the sun when it sets and balances on the horizon. Blue, the color of the edge of a dainty tea set I've seen somewhere, though I can't remember where. Pink, the color of my face that I feel rather than see when Jack holds my hand in his._

_And then some things have layers of colors. These are the most beautiful. Like skin, for instance. Golden and tanned on top and red as blood underneath when it is opened up. Or the ocean- Green and blue shimmers above and black as night when you're underneath and at its mercy._

_Everything has a different color underneath, if anyone thinks to look._

* * *

On deck, Will was pacing in circles when he inexplicably realized something; this was all Jack's fault. Jack's fault for flirting with Elizabeth and causing Will to become angry at her. Jack's fault for crashing his ship into the rock. Jack's fault that Elizabeth no longer remembered anything (except one person, but Will wasn't going to think about that right now). He would deal with Jack later. 

Right now, however, he was going to visit Elizabeth. Surely she remembered him now. It had just been a fluke, that was all. He would hold her and tell her he loved her and she would laugh and ask when they could finally get married.

He was her fiance! He loved her, and she loved him, so it was only a matter of time before she remembered him, he convinced himself.

Arriving at Jack's room, he hesitated before the closed door. Should he knock? He didn't want to anger Jack, but then again, Elizabeth was in there. Indecisive, he lingered at the door until he heard voices. Assuming that Elizabeth was awake and asking for him, he opened the door to find Jack undressing his fiance.

* * *

If you remember the old version of this chapter, I took some stuff out... That's why it's a lot shorter than some of the others I've written. I took out Jack's suspicions about Will hitting Elizabeth and the really long author's note. The former I took out because I was getting a lot of complaints, and the more I thought about it, it doesn't really even apply to the later chapters anyway.

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	3. Kidnapped

**This chapter has been edited.**

A/N: This chapter is probably worth rereading if you haven't read the new version. Thanks to all my reviewers!

* * *

Will cleared his throat, absolutely fuming. His normally calm demeanor was falling to pieces, and he could not tear his eyes away from Jack and Elizabeth. 

Jack awkwardly cleared his throat. "It's not what it looks like, mate."

"Not what it looks like?! You're undressing Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth broke in, realizing that something was dreadfully wrong. "I just wanted to be more comfortable in bed!"

Before Elizabeth could correct her poor word choice, Will turned even redder. "Captain Sparrow, if you are interested in Miss Swann's company, we shall have to settle with swords."

Elizabeth's head darted between both of them, looking very much like a child being punished for a sin unknown to them.

"LAND!" came a shout from on deck.

Jack shrugged. "We'll talk later over rum, aye?"

* * *

The small island of Morliko was, oddly enough, bustling. Jack looked around in amazement, wondering how so many people could fit onto such a small island. He had never been to the island himself- had only heard of it from other pirates, but from what he could see, it was a melting pot of cultures and traditions. 

He sauntered into the local tavern, where he slapped his hand on the bar, waking up the bartender.

"Aye mate, two rums."

The bartender complied and set the rums in front of Jack. He passed one over to the bartender, and they clanked their glasses together before taking a long swig.

"New in these parts?" asked the bartender.

"That I am. Would ye know of a doctor around here?" Jack cracked his knuckles, thinking hard. If there wasn't a doctor here, the next island was a two day's sail.

The bartender quickly gave the name of the nearest doctor, Dr. Ralling, and his home. Jack drank the rest of his rum to be polite (A/N: He just wanted the rum), and then he departed for the doctor's house, determined to bring him back to the Pearl to treat Elizabeth.

* * *

When Elizabeth had the doctor examine her, her first thought was that another doctor had examined her, at another time, but she couldn't remember, which frustrated her. 

The way he examined her was familiar: asking her how long it hurt, whether or not she was dizzy, but the doctor himself wasn't right. He was tall and lanky with brown hair and a beard, and although Elizabeth could not remember the other doctor from her past, she knew that he was not him.

She had requested to keep Jack in the room. He made her feel safe, and safety was something in short supply in her life lately... _Why?_ She wondered. _Why_ hadn't her life been safe lately? She couldn't remember. But her head hurt from the doctor reapplying her bandage, and she soon wanted to go back to sleep.

When the doctor was almost finished examining her, he ran across the bruise at her shoulder, and a brief look passed across his face. "Where did ye get that?"

Jack took her hand in his reassuringly, and suddenly it came to her. "I was running," she exclaimed joyfully, "and I tripped. That was four days ago."

* * *

_Recovered memories come in flashes, and you have a choice. You can either let it enter your mind and relive the memory, whatever it may be, or you can fight it off until it vanishes into what I imagine resembles a puff of smoke. Love is like that, too. You can succumb to it or fight it off and ignore it._

_But no matter what you do, the memory always returns sooner or later._

_And so does love.  
_

* * *

Jack started when Elizabeth remembered something, and he turned to the doctor questioningly. The doctor saw his look and told Elizabeth to rest. Jack and the doctor excused themselves and went on deck to talk, where the sun was just beginning to set. 

"How is it that the lass remembers something from four days ago? Does she really remember it? Do you suppose she's lying?" It occurred to Jack that he could not remember a time becoming so fascinated with something.

"Most definitely," assured the doctor. "Patients with recent head wounds often do not have the mental capacity to lie."

"Then how does she remember nothing except me? And how did she remember something from four days ago?"

"Well... I have an unproven theory..." the doctor trailed off.

"Aye?"

"In my patients with memory loss, there seems to be one person or thing engraved in their minds, something that they will never forget. This person or thing helps them remember. At first, the patient will only remember by directly physically connecting with the unforgettable person -you holding her hand, for example-, but soon it can happen without the contact and just in the presence of the person. The person or thing ultimately helps in the memory recovery."

"What are you suggestin', doctor?"

"You need to help her regain her memory. I suggest you do something that she has done for the past couple of years, maybe traveling? Have you been at sea for the past couple of years?" When Jack nodded, he went on, "But it is very important that you do this alone. If you take other company, she will begin to mix up new memories with the old, and that could cause her to never regain her memory."

Jack grinned. "Just me, Lizzie, and the sea? I knew I liked you, Doctor Ralling. I thank you."

"It was my pleasure. Her head wound itself will heal on its own very shortly. I am leaving you some salve to keep on it to hasten the process. Write me a missive to tell me what happens."

Neither of the men noticed that Will crept away from them, a look of fury on his face.

* * *

Elizabeth was almost asleep when she heard a thump. Just one thump, mind you, as if something were falling... 

Or trying to open her door.

"Jack?" she whispered.

Her door opened to reveal Will silhouetted in moonlight. He was holding a rope awkwardly behind his back, and he had a piece of cloth tucked into his pocket. "Elizabeth," he whispered feverishly. "We're leaving."

* * *

I want to thank you guys for all of the reviews! Let me know how you liked this chapter! And yes, Will is trying to kidnap Elizabeth. He thinks that he is the person who can help her get her memory back. Arrogant moron... He does, however, have the sense to know that Elizabeth will probably not want to go with him, which is why he plans to tie her up and gag her. 


	4. The Stakes

**This chapter has been edited.**

A/N: Oooooh, I hate Will right now...

* * *

A thousand thoughts were flying through Will's head, most of them too fast for him to comprehend. The most reoccurring one was 'I love her'. He acted on this, the single thought he could grasp, and tried to fix everything. In the height of the moment, he only knew that he wanted to achieve the past; he desired only for everything to be as it once was, with Elizabeth his and memory hers. 

He forced himself to gag the lips he had so often kissed, the lips he sensed rather than felt were no longer his. With a curse of determination, he vowed to regain his Elizabeth from whatever had taken her, from what he suspected was Jack Sparrow.

He bound her arms and legs tightly, imagining himself binding his inhibitions for what he was about to do, binding what was sure to be his last chance.

He hated himself, quite simply. If he hadn't raised his voice at Elizabeth... If he hadn't advanced towards her... None of this would have happened, and she would still be his. Gazing at the jagged cut on her forehead that contrasted so sharply with her smooth features, he realized that he was the cause of her misery, and unless he did something to change it, he would never be able to live with himself, and he might as well end his life now...

It struck him that he had no plan or even a vague notion as to what the future would bring, just that Elizabeth was his future and that without her he had none. He spontaneously decided to bring her on land, where they could marry and start a life together, just as they had always imagined.

Lifting the struggling Elizabeth out of the bed she had been confined to, he strode out the door, not looking back, grateful for the full moon that lit his way to the rowboats, hoping against hope that he could escape unharmed and with Elizabeth in tow.

* * *

Because Elizabeth was still sleeping in his cabin, Jack had taken to wandering the decks at night, sleeping every so often in the chair of his study. He hadn't slept well in years, not since the Black Pearl was taken from him the first time. The sea still had its calming effect on his demeanor, but it could no longer lure him to sleep. 

Sometimes, he watched her sleep.

She sighed every so often, and he found himself holding his breath every time she shifted in her sleep, dreaming of the unknown. She had murmured his name once, just once, but it was enough to make him come back for at least part of every night.

She scared him.

He loved and loathed the effect she had on him, the way she mesmerized him. He had been mesmerized by women before, of course, but not because of who they were- only because of what they looked like. But she had the inner and outer beauty, and she fascinated him much like the sea. Both were beautiful, but just as no one owned the sea, Jack could never fathom owning Elizabeth.

He tread across the deck, glancing behind him at the full moon as he opened the door to his cabin. It took him a moment to register that something was horribly, horribly wrong. The pillows had been knocked off of the bed and were piled in a heap, and the sheets were tangled and knotted. A lone piece of rope on the floor told a story all on its own, and with a growl, Jack strode out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

* * *

_I long for my freedom as soon as my hands and feet are bound. I long for it the way a drunkard longs for the drink, and I want it so badly I can taste it. A voice echoes in my head..._

_"You long for freedom. You long to do what you want to do because you want it. To act on selfish impulse."_

_At this moment, freedom is more precious to me than my memory.  
_

* * *

Will untied the lifeboat leisurely. It occurred to him that he should have been moving with more urgency, but the fact that he was here with Elizabeth for the first time in days had stupefied him, and he could only untie the boat and lower it into the water with a _splash!_ and dimly think about his next movements. 

"Usually," spat a voice in his ear, "when people do things in the middle of the night, it means they are (here he paused) _up_ to something."

Will cursed and turned to face an angry Jack Sparrow. He furtively glanced left, where he had temporarily hidden Elizabeth in case anyone happened to walk by. She was behind an ancient lifeboat that was falling apart, unlike the one he had been so close to leaving in.

"I- I," he cleared his throat. "Elizabeth and I were just leaving on an early honeymoon." Stupid, stupid, stupid, he thought. Jack probably had not even seen Elizabeth, so why had he brought her up?

"Aye? Then I suppose this rope left in my cabin is part of her wedding dress." His eyes glittered. "Or perhaps an early wedding present?"

He kicked aside the lifeboat, revealing Elizabeth, still struggling to untie her hands and feet.

Will whipped out his sword, brandishing it at Jack. "You are not coming in between us, Captain."

Jack tapped the sword lightly. "But why fight when you can negotiate? Let's talk, you and I, about your bonnie lass..."

* * *

It was such a relief to be free of the ropes that were binding her that Elizabeth spent several seconds just rubbing life back into her sore limbs. She rose to her feet shakily to follow the men, stumbling a little because of her sore ankles. She would have fallen if it weren't for Jack bracing an arm around her waist. 

They walked into the study of Jack's cabin, where Jack sat down at a small table. "Rum?" he offered, and not waiting for an answer, he poured three glasses, passing one to Elizabeth, seated at his desk, and to Will, seated across from him at the table.

Will opened his mouth to talk, baffled, but Jack held up a hand. "Dearly Beloved," he began, "we are gathered here today to discuss why Elizabeth Swann and William Turner should not be joined in holy matrimony..."

"Jack, I suggest that you get to the point."

Jack glanced dismissively at the hand Will had moved to his sword. "More rum?" he asked. Elizabeth declined, still sitting at the desk, but Will accepted. Jack filled his cup to the brim, and Will took a large sip.

"So mate," asked Jack conversationally, "what is it that you want?"

"I want Elizabeth to marry me."

"Aye, but how can a lass marry you that hasn't known you?" Jack refilled Will's empty cup.

"She knows me!"

"Aye, I think not... Elizabeth, do ye remember knowing Mr. Turner?"

Elizabeth shook her head.

"How can a lass marry you that isn't remembering you?"

"But I remember her. And that's why I'm willing to fight for her." Will stood up, slightly unsteady on his feet.

"Then I have a proposition for you. What do you say to a friendly game of cards?"

"Stakes?" asked Will suspiciously.

"Why, Miss Swann, of course."

"Let the game ensue."

* * *

I'll try to update soon! 


	5. The kiss

A/N: I start this chapter with no earthly idea of the content... -ponders writing about monkeys and elephants-

* * *

"Then I have a proposition for you. What do you say to a friendly game of cards?"

"Stakes?" asked Will suspiciously.

"Why, Miss Swann, of course."

"Let the game ensue."

Will thought that his ears were surely deceiving him. There was now a light at the end of the tunnel, a way Elizabeth could belong to him as surely as he belonged to her. He could win her back. She could be his forever and ever and-

"Deal." said Jack, passing him the cards. Will began methodically passing them out. One for Jack, one for him, one for Jack, one for him... "If I win, you'll really let me take her? Take her to marry me?" He held his breath, waiting for the answer that could change his life.

Jack nodded. "Aye, mate. And I'll never see her again. She'll be yours and only yours, your own bonnie lass."

"Jack! A word with you, if you please." Elizabeth stood up from the chair, her eyes flashing.

He grinned and bowed to her, letting her lead the way to the deck, where they ensured they were out of earshot of Will.

As soon as Jack gestured for her to begin speaking, she exploded with the force of a tropical storm out at sea. "Jack, I do not appreciate becoming the stakes for a drunken card game! What if you lose to him?! What if I really become his?! What if-"

"Luv, luv, luv, you have to trust me," he said softly, catching the insides of her wrists.

"But you- I don't want to go with him! If you lose-"

"Then I'll just have to win, aye?"

"Aye," she whispered, distracted by his too-warm hands.

"So," he smirked, pulling her closer into his broad arms, "what was it you were worrying about, luv?"

"Going...with...Will..." She was distracted by the fact that he was trailing little kisses up and down her cheek. He paused for a second, letting his lips linger by the corner of her mouth.

"But Lizzie luv (May I call you Lizzie?), why don't you trust me?" He exhaled gently into her mouth, delighting to feel her trembling in his arms.

She was suddenly finding it more difficult to breathe. "I- I do trust you, Jack."

"Then why won't ye let me try this harmless game?" Jack pressed his forehead against hers, his dark eyes pleading in the moonlight.

Elizabeth frowned, pouting. She just _knew_ there was a reason. She was mad at him because-

"You think too much," growled Jack suddenly, and with a savage cry pulled her lips up to his. He tasted of the salty sea air and of something purely Jack. Elizabeth suddenly remembered kissing him on this ship, in a dangerous situation, at another time, but she could not comprehend when or why. As if he could sense her thinking again, he suddenly tightened his arms around her, running his right hand through her hair. She sighed the tiniest bit, relaxing against him.

Jack had accomplished his mission. Her mind was devoid of everything but the feel of his lips on hers. His lips were warm and lit a flame deep inside of her, something she hadn't known existed. She was suddenly aware of her entire body. Even her feet hummed with pleasure, and she realized that she was kissing him back as hard as he was kissing her.

He changed the style of his kisses then, the way a musician suddenly plays a different movement, and he repeatedly brought his lips to hers, retracting them as fast as he touched them. Her body sang a thousand songs, but the half-moments in between kisses began feeling like years. She dragged his face down to hers, pulling him even closer than before. Elizabeth was enchanted by the taste of him, of Jack, of a pirate.

As if he knew what she was thinking, he pulled away from her with an oath. "Luv," he warned, "I am a pirate, and you have no bloody idea what you're getting into."

"I think I know perfectly well what I'm getting into."

"Aye? And what is that?"

She gently pushed him towards the door. "I'm afraid you won't know until you win that card game."

He grinned, triumphant. "Lizzie luv, I like the way you think."

Jack grabbed her hand, tugging her back into the cabin, where Will and the card game awaited.

* * *

So... 

That was different than I thought it was going to be.

But they finally kissed!

I bet some of you are happy about that, haha.

Please review so I know whether this was a good/bad chapter. The next one will be longer, promise.

Love you guys!


	6. Cards

A/N: Let me just start off by apologizing for the long delay... I was out of town, and then I got busy, and this chapter was a buh-loody pain to write anyway because I had to double-check all of the card game rules... This is like the one card game I don't know, haha. In this particular time period, they used early verisions of the cards we know today, but for the sake of the story we're going to assume the suits are exactly the same as ours, savvy? 

Thanks for all of the reviews! You have no idea how much they inspire me. Please let me know what you think should happen in upcoming chapters... After all, I wouldn't be writing this if it weren't for my faithful readers, so you should have some say, yeah?

* * *

_"Show me a gambler and I'll show you a loser, show me a hero and I'll show you a corpse." -Mario Puzo_

* * *

Will did not know what Jack and Elizabeth were doing, but he did know one thing: he had time. He had enough time to do whatever he damn well pleased, and he planned to use that time to his advantage, because Heaven knew that Jack Sparrow already had enough advantages on him. Like Elizabeth remembering him, for starters...

Glaring at nothing in particular, he shuffled through the deck until he found the cards he was looking for. He replaced the cards in his hand with them, nodding in satisfaction as the candle light flickered.

Ace of Spades.

King of Spades.

Queen of Spades.

Jack of Spades. Will scowled at the mention of _him_.

Ten of Spades.

_Soon, Elizabeth, you'll remember me..._

* * *

_It's strange the way some memories are coming back to me now, while many others still remain lost in the voids of my mind. For instance, I cannot recall my birthday, but I can tell you that in my childhood, I wanted a unicorn more than anything else in the world._

_I thought it would be splendid to own a mythical creature, one who would follow me everywhere and love me for who I was. I even asked Father for one, but he laughed at me and said that unicorns weren't real._

_I didn't think true love was real, either._

_But then I met Jack._

* * *

Will started as the door to the cabin opened. Glaring in disapproval as his Elizabeth walked in holding hands with Jack, he took another swig of rum to drown his dismay.

As Jack sat down across from him and gave the cards a suspicious once-over, Will was distracted by the possibility of being caught in the act. He was so distracted, in fact, that he did not notice Elizabeth's lips, thoroughly kissed, or her eyes, which sparkled like one thousand gems.

He didn't notice that Jack was speaking to him until much later.

"-and, of course, I was just assisting your lass here with her dress. Ye are in favor of her health, aye?"

Will nodded weakly, starting to feel the heavy effects of too much rum.

"Then why wouldn't ye be wanting her sleeping?"

Will turned the deepest shade of anger. "It is not that I don't want her sleeping! I just don't want her sleeping with a pirate!"

Jack merely smirked. "And I suppose you have never slept with my Lizzie, aye?"

Will turned colors again, but this time it was the pink flush of embarrassment. "I am no pirate."

"No pirate, eh?"

He answered stronger than this time. "No, I am not a pirate."

Jack turned Will's cards over with a flourish, revealing the straight flush. "Interesting... Very interesting..."

* * *

Elizabeth listened in horror to the proceedings in Jack's office. She had been wrong. She was not engaged to Jack- she was engaged to Will.

She was wrong, and she had slept with William Turner.

The pain cut her deeply like a hot knife through butter, and she gasped in horror.

_How_, she wondered, _can I remember none of this?_

Her forehead throbbed suddenly, and she hit the desk in a dead faint.

* * *

Neither of the men noticed that the woman they were fighting over was unconscious on the desk.

"If a pirate is a man who cheats, lies, or otherwise deceives to get his way, and you have cheated, lied, or otherwise deceived to get your way, then it stands to reason that you are one, mate." said Jack, almost conversationally.

Jack reached out to Will's side of the table, where he retrieved all of the cards and began to redeal. One for Will, one for him, one for Will, one for him... He shifted his own cards so that they sat side by side, like two people waiting for something. "Your bet."

Jack laughed at Will's look of pain and determination until he saw him pull a lock of hair from his pocket. That would be Elizabeth's hair, of course. No other such locks gleamed like molten gold. Will put this gold, more precious than metal, in the middle of the table. "Dear William," said Jack guardedly, "I would be raising, but I prefer my lasses to have hair on their heads, so I will not deprive her of any more."

"Then what are you going to-"

"There we go, then." said Jack, pulling off a swatch of Elizabeth's dress that had gotten caught on a hook of his sleeve. "I call."

Jack flipped the next three cards over. A Jack of Hearts, a Queen of Hearts, and an Ace of Black Pearl. He squinted- no, no, no, that was a diamond. 'Black Pearl' was not a suit... Jack shook his head, whipping his dreadlocks back and forth, and instead decided to look at the three cards as a good omen. Himself, his Lizzie, and the Black Pearl.

And a bed. Where was the Ace of Beds?

Ignoring this temporary problem, he realized it was his bet, and pushed a shiny pistol to the middle of the table. "When you lose," he said quietly, "that might start to look really friendly."

"If I lost, I wouldn't be receiving the pot now, would I?"

"Aye, true. Then I would make the assumption of-"

But Will surprised him, tapping his own pistol at his belt. "Just in case," he muttered, "I have one, too."

* * *

Elizabeth wearily cracked her right eye open, offended when she realized that the two men fighting over had not noticed her faint. She was a _woman,_ for pirate's sake! She should be fawned over, she should be treated with compassion, she should certainly _not_ be ignored when she falls into a state of unconsciousness!

She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision when she remembered that the gamble for her future was taking place a few feet away. She glanced over at what appeared to be a lock of her hair and a scrap of her dress (Were they _mad_?) and at the center three cards: a Jack of Hearts, a Queen of Hearts, and an Ace of Black Pearl.

She smacked the side of her head.

Black Pearl wasn't a suit...

It was in fact the Ace of Diamonds, though why she hadn't seen that at first she couldn't tell you. Unless it was an omen of some sort... Jack, Elizabeth, and the Black Pearl. She rather liked the sound of that.

And diamonds. Thank goodness that was the Ace of Diamonds. Every woman, she thought, loved diamonds, no matter how long the said woman had been at sea.

* * *

"I raise. If you win... I want her to have something of mine." Will pushed his silver ring to the center of the table.

Jack noticed that the silver ring would make a very nice toy for an undead monkey as he flipped the next card over in the center. Ten of Hearts. It was odd, he thought, how so many of the center cards had those big, scarlet hearts on them.

It was odder still how it made him think of Elizabeth.

He poured himself another glass of rum.

Jack pushed a bulging bag of coins into the center of the table. "If you take 'er, I'd like you to buy her a nice set of woman-ly undergarments as a gift from me. Plenty of lace, if you please."

"JACK!" shrieked Elizabeth.

Will grunted, pushing into the center an equally large bag of coins. "I call this bet on one condition."

"Aye?"

"Buy yourself a set, Sparrow."

* * *

_My latest recalled memory involved Will and me when we were little, which confuses me. How long _have_ we known each other?_

_We were flying kites in a field somewhere on a windy day. His navy and silver kite soared beautifully, but mine only hovered a few feet above the ground. Being only five, I was silently willing myself not to cry. I tried imagining the kite flying as high as his, but somehow the pink ribbons of my kite could never quite measure up._

_When Will noticed my expression, he wrapped the string of his kite around his ankle and turned to me. He gently unclenched my hands from the fistfuls of string I held, and I held my breath as my kite flew as high as his._

_"Sometimes, Miss Swann, you have to let go to make things happen."_

* * *

Will stifled a yawn as Jack turned over the final card. He felt like he had been sitting there for hours, when he knew that in actuality it was only one or two at most.

King of Spades.

Why did that make him picture himself digging his own grave?

"As a courtesy to you, you may start this bet..." Jack raised his eyebrows as he waited for what was coming.

Will began unbuttoning his shirt. (A/N: OMGOSH! OMGOSH! THE ONLY TIME I LIKE HIM IN THIS FIC!)

Jack shielded his eyes. "If we ever begin a game that involves the removal of clothing, ye'll be the first one to know."

"No... It's just..." his voice broke. "She used to like sleeping in this shirt."

Jack hurriedly moved the game onward, embarrassed by such a strong display of emotion. "I raise," he declared.

A minute went by.

"With what bet?"

"I knew we would get to that." Jack swooped over behind the desk, where Elizabeth was sitting. He picked her up, carrying her back over to the table. He placed her down in the middle of the table, letting a hand trail down her back when he knew Will wasn't looking.

Jack laughed at Will's startled look. "Weren't the stakes Elizabeth in the first place?"

Will nodded weakly.

"We may now," exclaimed Jack dramatically, "examine the hands."

* * *

Will suddenly realized it was storming. He thought about the last storm on this ship, when he waltzed with Elizabeth to no music whatsoever as the rain made his clothes stick to him and her long hair curl. The lightning lit the boat every minute or so, casting an eerie glow around everything.

They had kissed in the rain until a large clap of thunder made them jump apart in surprise and then fall laughing back at their own folly into each other's arms.

He had clutched at her hands tightly, because he knew she was terrified of storms. "Don't hold my hand so tightly, Will," she snapped abruptly.

The lightning flashed again, casting her into such a different light that at first he didn't recognize her.

* * *

Jack suddenly noticed it was storming. He had always loved storms, being a caption and a nautical man. The rain was the only fresh water besides drinking water that he ever came into contact with, and the loud thunder always made him think of defeating other ships.

The rain washing down his back always made him feel clean, and it made staying in bed that much more fun, especially if you had a nice companion to stay in bed with.

The ship was beginning to plunge and lift as the waves shook the boat, and he knew that if it were not for the fact that they were still docked at Morliko he would have to cut the card game short. He briefly wondered if the doctor was still on board, but his attention was drawn back to the pressing matter at hand.

It was the first time that he, Captain Jack Sparrow, had not cheated in a card game.

And, quite frankly, it terrified him.

_Who moved the rum?_

* * *

Elizabeth suddenly noticed it was storming. She felt an immediate rise in terror, and the adrenaline began to pulse through her blood stream, bringing a flush to her cheeks and a tremor to her hands that had nothing to do with the fact that she was near Jack.

It was irrational, but she could say without a doubt that she was terrified of storms.

She found it ironic that the thunder and lightning were equally as petrifying to her as the results of the card game.

* * *

Will turned over his cards, prepared for the worst. Instead, what he saw made him gasp in delight.

"Jack of Diamonds and Spades!" he cried. "That's three of a kind! I'll be taking Elizabeth, if you please."

Jack silenced him with a glare. "I haven't yet turned over mine."

He turned them over just as a sudden gust of wind knocked open the window and blew the candles out, casting the room into utter darkness.

* * *

Ok, so you got the longer chapter you've all been waiting for! You better love me, because that took like a reallllllly long time to write, haha. I'll get the next chapter up faster this time! And if you're betting illiterate like I am, you combine your hand with the cards in the center to make the best possible hand. So since there was one jack in the center, he had three of a kind. I hope that clears up the confusion I just felt when I reread that last paragraph or so! 

Please review and let me know how you liked this chapter. It had a lot more humor in it than usual, and I also did a lot of perspective switching. 

Free rum to the first person to review this chapter!


	7. Light and darkness

A/N: It's three in the morning, but I'm awake because I finally realized what I want to happen in this chapter. Thanks for all the reviews!

Oh, and I have a confession... I, the girl who said she'd never write a Will/Elizabeth, just started one. Check out Lost and Found if you're bored waiting for an update here, haha.

* * *

_Will turned over his cards, prepared for the worst. Instead, what he saw made him gasp in delight. _

"Jack of Diamonds and Spades!" he cried. "That's three of a kind! I'll be taking Elizabeth, if you please."

Jack silenced him with a glare. "I haven't yet turned over mine."

He turned them over just as a sudden gust of wind knocked open the window and blew the candles out, casting the room into utter darkness.

* * *

"Sparrow, you bloody idiot, I want a candle!" snapped Will, impatient to confirm the fact that he had won Elizabeth. A three of a kind was a very good hand indeed, even if he was looking to defeat a Jack with three more of said jacks...

"You want a candle? How endearing. My great intellectual powers, however, nudge me toward the thought that it's the match yer're really wantin'." Jack nimbly danced behind the desk, where Elizabeth could hear him shuffling from one foot to another as he hastily dug through desk drawers, searching for the forsaken match.

"Mountains move, oceans dry up, and still I wait for you to locate a match!" Will slammed his hand down on the desk, knocking off two of the candles.

"Oh, now look what you've done!" cried Elizabeth, as the candles rolled and dripped hot wax on the wooden planks of the floor. She got on her knees, feeling around for the candles. She located one and managed to tuck it under her arm, but as she was reaching for the next one, she grabbed something that felt less like a candle and more like a boot.

A lot more like a boot, actually.

She looked up into the grinning face of Jack Sparrow. He offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet, and she couldn't help but shiver at the close contact (Shiver me timbers indeed, she thought ruefully).

She tried to reclaim her hand, but he tightened his fingers around it, still grinning at her and digging through drawers with the other hand.

She spoke in a low tone to lessen the likelihood of Will overhearing. Although he was only a few feet away, the wind howling from the cabin through through the still-open window snatched away her words as soon as she spoke them. "Jack, let go of my hand! I need to find the other candle!"

He began to speak as if he did not recognize her urgency. "Darlin', I have a candle, you know. It's a very... _hot_ one, you could say."

"Jack, I really must-"

"It is also a rather large one. I'm sure the wax would-"

"Jack, keep searching through the drawers!"

"Through your drawers, specifically, or drawers in general?"

She gave a cry of frustration and yanked her hand free, getting back on her knees to find the missing candle.

* * *

_As I get back on my knees, another memory comes to me in a flash, and I close my eyes and succumb to it._

_Will and I are sprawled out on a hilltop somewhere, the remnants of a candlelit picnic dinner in between us. He held one of my hands tightly in his, which was difficult because of the half-empty rum bottle in front of him. I am sixteen.  
_

_It was a starless night, a dark night, and I asked Will to light the candle. _

_"Why?"_

_I told him I didn't like the dark.  
_

_"But Elizabeth, darkness is one of those things that can only be defined by something else. Without darkness, there is no light. Without heat, there is no cold." He paused. "Without me, there is no you."_

_What he said bothered me for some reason."Assuming you have made a profound statement, what happens to one thing if you rid yourself of the other thing? What would happen to the light, for instance, if you got rid of the darkness?"_

_He frowned at me. "It would also disappear, I'm afraid." _

_"I think," I retorted, as he struck a match and lit the candle, "that you have had too much to drink, Mr. Turner."_

_He laughed. "I love you, Elizabeth."_

_A few seconds later, I snuffed the candle flame out with my fingertips._

* * *

"Aha!" cried Jack. "I found the little bugger!" 

He proudly held up a match, noticing how Elizabeth was standing up in a daze and wondering why he felt such a surge of worry.

She was a pirate, after all. She had proved that time and time again. Pirates were tough, pirates were-

Slightly green around the edges?

He cocked his head to the side, wondering exactly what would make Lizzie turn that particular shade.

* * *

Will had watched as Jack appeared to try to seduce Elizabeth, but this was forgotten as soon as he saw her yank her hand away. He suddenly felt as light as the ocean air. Elizabeth knew he had won, and she was ready to come back to him. 

Jack reached for the candle that Elizabeth silently held for him. _That's odd_, he thought. _The strange lighting from the storm is making her look green_.

Elizabeth's hair vined around her face like a living thing in the wind from the open window, and as Jack struck the match to relight the candle, she gasped. "Wait! Jack! The wind from the-"

The candle was extinguished yet again, but not before Jack got a glimpse of red on his cards. _This_, he reflected, _could either be very good or very bad. _For instance, if he had anything from the Hearts suit, he had probably won. But if he had anything from Diamonds, he had almost certainly lost both the game and Elizabeth.

* * *

"Alright," barked Elizabeth. "I want to know which of the two of you forgot to close the bloody window!" 

Will and Jack looked down sheepishly.

"I want both of you to march over there right now and close that window! You were irresponsible and-" She stopped. "My God, I sound like my father..."

Jack glanced at her. "Unless your father stuffs the top of his dress, luv, you really look nothing like him."

She glared at him.

"Aye, even Captain Jack Sparrow knows when to surrender..."

Elizabeth sighed. "Just one of you close the window sometime in the near future!"

Jack cleared his throat. "As I am the strongest, most able-bodied man here, I do believe that I should be the one to-"

"What?! You are quite mistaken. I am definitely the one to close the window." shot back Will.

"Then close it, mate."

Will haughtily got up to close the window. Amused, Jack folded his arms behind his head and put his feet up on the desk.

Will reached up, preparing for an easy task. He pushed.

The wind blew harder, but the window didn't budge. "Bloody hell! How did the wind knock this open?"

"I wouldn't know." Jack examined his fingernails.

"Maybe it's stuck from the outside, Will!"

"Elizabeth, how could it have gotten stuck from the _outside_?"

"I don't know, just look!"

Grimacing at the two of them, Will stuck his head out of the window, where he was promptly showered with rain.

"Do you see anything?"

"I'm looking!" Will leaned forward and gave a sudden cry. "My watch! My grandfather's watch! It just fell out of my pocket!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "What a eunuch."

Will's voice seemed to come from a great distance. "It's stuck on a rough board a yard below me, but I can't reach it!" He pulled his head back in from outside, looking devastated by the loss of one of his most treasured possessions.

"Here, Will, let me try."

"Don't be stupid, Lizzie. You were just bedridden!" said Jack gruffly. "If anyone retrieves that watch, it shall be me."

"You?" asked Elizabeth incredulously.

"How else will dear William know the exact time I win this card game?" Jack cackled and marched over to the window, where he stuck his head through with some difficulty and leaned down.

He peered down at the _Black Pearl's _siding, looking with fondness at his ship. But wait...

"Watch? There's not a-"

His thoughts were interrupted by Elizabeth's sudden scream, and he rammed his head back through the window.

He was stuck fast.

Bloody hat.

* * *

A/N: What a ridiculous picture our dear Jack makes! Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming!

* * *


	8. Reaching

**A/N: haha The reason this update took so long is because I edited chapters one through four, and they are much improved. I suggest rereading them, actually. The style is more similar to what I'm writing in now, and I took out some stuff that wasn't applicable to the plot and added some stuff in that was. **

**I have also updated my other Pirates fic, Lost and Found.**

**I finally reached one hundred reviews! You have my thanks.**

* * *

"I'll be damned if you kidnap me again, William Turner!" he heard his Lizzie yell. He then heard the _thump!_ of a body hitting a wall and prayed it wasn't Elizabeth's.

But he could do nothing to help her because he was stuck fast due to his hat and the too-small window. Jack swore the most he'd sworn since he'd mistaken a bottle of soap for a bottle of rum. He couldn't even reach up to take his bloody hat _off_ because his arms were on the other side of the window. 

The only thing outside of the ship was his dreadlocked head. He had a sudden, terrible thought: What if the window wasn't too small? What if his head was simply overlarge? 

"LIZZIE?" he bellowed, hoping his voice would carry back into the cabin. "IS ME HEAD TOO BIG?"

"Oh yes!" cried Elizabeth, who was at the moment struggling against Will. "Yes, your head is _much_ too sodding big if you think that I even remotely care about something like that right now!"

Jack began to mutter to himself. "When we're married and she asks me if she's fat, I'm going to say, (and here he mimicked her voice) 'Oh yes, you're _much_ too sodding big if you think that I even remotely care about something like that right now!' _Women_," he spat in disgust.

"WHAT ABOUT WOMEN, JACK?"

Bloody hell, she had heard him.

"Nothing, darlin', nothing at all."

"Jack Sparrow, I'll-" Two people grunted heavily as if colliding, which, reflected Jack, they probably were.

"You'll what, luv?"

Ignoring him, she pressed on. "So you think women are -_crash_- selfish, do you?"

"Ye will have to excuse Jack, here, he didn't know-"

He could feel her glare without seeing it, and it made him twitch.

Elizabeth's voice dripped with scorn. "Captain, I am going to _prove _to you that women are not selfish. For example, even though I am locked in combat with this oaf here, (Will cried out indignantly) I am going to rescue you."

He laughed outright. "And how are you going to do that, Lizzie?"

A heavy object that he suspected to be a candlestick hit the back of his skull, and he yelped in pain.

"My apologies! I was aiming to knock your hat off, you see."

Jack would have laughed at her nerve if his head wasn't throbbing.

"Now Lizzie, you really don't have to-" A _swoosh_ing sound grew rapidly nearer and he braced himself.

_Thwack!_ Jack moaned as another heavy and distinctly metal object hit him in the back of the head. "Lizzie, darlin', you've made your point."

"Really?" she spat. "I don't think it's made enough of an _impression_ yet."

"Contrary to popular belief, luv, your message actually left a very distinct impression, one I'll always be rememberin', and-" The next object was so heavy that he saw stars.

He was so dizzy, in fact, that he did not notice for a full minute that his hat had been knocked off into the ocean. He refrained from wailing over this particular loss, but just barely.

Jack yanked his head from the window, spun around, and drew his sword. "I have to come to rescue fair maiden, also known as the damsel in distress or my one true love, the one who-"

Elizabeth brushed dirt off of her dress. "Really, Jack, you're about five minutes too late."

He glanced over at the table where they had played cards, where Will was passed out and drooping over his chair. He was disgusted to see him drooling onto the newly polished wood. Eunuch.

"I am sorry about your head, though," she continued. "I'm afraid my temper got the better of me. Does it pain you much?"

Jack touched the back of his head, where he could feel a bump already forming. "Yes, dreadfully so, luv," he answered. He was pleased to see pity on her face as she walked over to him.

"Why are you standing, then?" she replied crossly.

He dropped into the nearest chair, where Elizabeth promptly shifted some of his dreadlocks so that she had a better view of his scalp.

Her hands, he noticed, were freezing, and he told her so.

She laughed. "Does this feel better, then?" she asked, placing them rather gently on the still-growing bump.

"Ever so much, luv."

"What about this?" She began kissing the top of his head slowly, before making her way down to his face and finally to his lips.

"You know, Lizzie," said Jack, trying to sound pitiful, "I think there's a bump growing between my legs, too. Maybe you could make it feel better by-"

She slapped him, and he carried the sting like a man.

He was Captain Jack Sparrow, after all.

* * *

_When I was fifteen, a funeral procession passed in front of our house. Will and I watched it go by, and then, following the custom, we joined it._

_We walked past the village square and several long wheat fields before finally stopped at an old cemetery. One loudly weeping man followed the men carrying the casket. He looked as though he hadn't slept in days, his black clothing wrinkled and his movements strained. He sobbed as though the simple act of sobbing could bring back whomever was in that coffin, and although I did not know him, my heart ached for him._

_As the minister began to read, the man moaned, "My wife, my beloved, my Anna," and I knew then that he had lost his love, and that not matter how hard or how long he grieved, he would never again find his other half._

_The men holding the casket were standing quietly while the minister read; they would not lower it into the ground until later. But suddenly one of them, our age or younger by the looks of him, dropped his side of the burden, and the coffin spilled open, causing everyone present to cry out._

_The weeping man yelled most of all, screaming that they had hurt his wife. As he fought his way through the crowd and made his way over to the open coffin, I noticed that the poor lady's hand was hanging out, palm open, as though reaching for something._

_The man, sobbing renewed, gently laced his fingers through his dead wife's and stood there for the remainder of the ceremony._

_I wasn't sure what moved me about this: if it were wondering if my father had cried like this at my mother's funeral so long ago or if it were my overwhelming outpouring of sympathy to the man who still stood, clutching his deceased love's hand like a lifeline. But whatever in this sequence of events had moved me, it caused me to burst into tears. _

_I wept almost as hard as the husband, and Will gently took my hand and led me away from the crowd so that we would not disturb the funeral._

_"It's alright," said Will, stroking my back in slow circles. "I understand."_

_"You- you do?"_

_"Yes," he said. "You're upset because you think the husband should have caught the coffin before it fell, that he should have anticipated it before it happened because he loved his wife."_

_I sat speechless, marvelling at this drastically incorrect interpretation._

_"But don't worry, Elizabeth," Will continued. "When you and I are married, I'll never leave your side for a moment, living _or _dead. I'll be with you always. I'll be there to save you every time, and you'll never have to do something dangerous or risky again."_

_I try to smile and pretend like this is what I want, but the sight of the poor woman's hand reaching out keeps getting in the way._

* * *

Three hours later, Will returned to the state of consciousness.

He blinked blearily before trying to sit up, noticing that Elizabeth seemed to be dozing with her head on the desk and that Jack was cleaning his sword. He also noted that the candles had been lit again.

"How long have I been out?" he sputtered, remembering suddenly the second failed kidnapping attempt and wondering why he was allowed to sit in here alive and unbound.

"Few hours, mate," said Jack.

"Did I- did I win Elizabeth?"

"Aye, we haven't yet looked at the final hand. Lizzie insisted on waiting for you, though I cannot say I know why..." his voice trailed off thoughtfully as he turned his head to her, wondering how she could be so beautiful even in sleep.

He strode over to her, in mind to wake her for the results of the card game, but she opened her eyes and sat up seconds before he reached her.

His Lizzie smiled at him before glancing over at the now conscious Will. "Who won?" she asked, her voice still thick with sleep.

"We're about to find out," snapped Will, impatient with the half of the conversation he did not understand, the half that was simply body language between Jack and Elizabeth.

"Then let us proceed," said Elizabeth quietly, looking over at him with sad eyes. She stood up from behind the desk and walked over, taking her place beside Jack.

Jack sat down across from Will. "If I may be rememberin' correctly," he started, "you had-"

"A three of a kind. Three Jacks."

"Aye," said Jack. "Then let's see what I have here, shall we?"

* * *

_Right before Jack turns over his cards, he squeezes my hand reassuringly, and for some reason this triggers another bout of recovered memories._

_Will and I are ten, and we are playing Pirate and Damsel, our favorite game. I was always the damsel, of course, and he alternated between the role of the villainous pirate and the virtuous sweetheart of the damsel who rescues her._

_Will charged into the tree house, which was the ship. "Behold!" he bellowed. "I have come to rescue fair lady!"_ _He then destroyed all of the 'pirates', stabbing his makeshift sword into them before turning to me._

_"Fair lady, let us depart," he said, offering his hand to me._

_But the inside of the tree house was cool, a nice change from the heat of summer, and I didn't want to leave._

_"This damsel," I declared, "does not want to be rescued."_

_He laughed outright. "All damsels want to be rescued from pirates, Elizabeth."_

_"Not this one. Pirates are people, too. Maybe there's a pirate who is good to me. And maybe I don't want to leave with you."_

_It is interesting to watch his face as he struggles with my two incomprehensible statements: that there are good pirates and that I don't want to go with him._

_"But Elizabeth, that's not how the game goes!"_

_"Well, maybe I'll make up my own game," I said defiantly, sticking my tongue out at him childishly._

_"No one will play with you if you don't follow the rules," he said, climbing down the steps of the tree house and leaving me._

* * *

Jack poured himself a glass of rum, wondering why his heart was beating so fast. It was just a card game, after all, just a card game.

But he might lose his Lizzie.

Taking a deep swallow of rum, he turned over his cards with a flourish, looking much more confident than he felt. _Why_ hadn't he cheated?

But to his delight, he saw a King and Ace of Hearts. His face split into a wide grin.

"That, mate, would make a straight flush. I'll be taking Elizabeth, if you please."

Will nodded sickly, standing up and leaving the room. The door banged shut behind him.

"Jack..."

He turned to Elizabeth and saw that she was as overjoyed as he. She threw her arms around his neck in a death grip, kissing him with such a passion that she surprised him.

Jack kissed her back hungrily, savoring the taste of her lips all the more now that he knew she would never be taken from him.

She pulled away briefly and whispered, "You won with a flush of hearts, you know."

He raised his right eyebrow.

Elizabeth blushed. "They do say love conquers all..." She buried her face into his neck, and he kissed her hair, wondering.

* * *

When Jack walked out of his office, he strode towards the deck, where he found Will, staring out at the waves.

Will looked up wearily before saying, "I suppose you have come to gloat."

"Gloating," said Jack with dignity, "is below me."

"Thank God," muttered Will, before turning once again to the sea. "And, let me guess- You never meant for this to happen?"

Jack laughed. "Hell no! I have been meaning for this to happen since I first saw the lass take a dive off of a cliff years ago."

Will glared at him, so Jack said hastily, "That, however, is not the reason I came to speak with you. I came to find out where a fellow pirate is headed, actually."

Will's eyes flashed at the word, but he merely said, "I know not, I'm afraid."

"If I may, I have a suggestion, mate." He didn't wait for Will's approval before continuing. "During winter when the sea is rough, bless her heart, I work as a bartender in Tortuga. It is a relaxing life as well as an interestin' one. The barman knows me, and if you tell him you know me, he'll let you work there instead of me this season."

Will nodded slowly. "Yes, Jack... I'd love to take your place."

He strode slowly off the deck and onto land in Morliko, where he told Jack he would catch the next ship to Tortuga.

"Don't worry!" yelled Jack after him as he departed. "The lass and I will name a child after you, savvy?"

* * *

**Reviews would be lovely! **

**There was some humor in here, more than in the last chapter, I think. This is the longest chapter so far.**

**But yeah, definitely let me know what you think!**


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